The Top 5 Lessons From My "Starting a Business Now" Series
Thanks for joining me over the last few months for my 5-part series about Starting a Business Now.
I'm constantly reminded of the importance of maintaining a beginner's mindset when starting and operating a business—and that entrepreneurship benefits from being a lifelong learner.
Today, I wanted to share a recap of the lessons in this series:
Cultivate a beginner's mind: With a beginner's mindset of curiosity and enthusiasm, we can approach problems with fresh eyes instead of preconceived notions. By being mindful of those around us while simultaneously seeking a flow state for the work we want to do, we can more easily learn, ask the right questions, and focus on customers' struggles. Read the full email here.
Starting today, you're a company: Entrepreneurship can allow us to build businesses tailored to our ideal lifestyle, beyond the demands of traditional startups. More than ever, solo founders can automate processes and make money while they sleep by leveraging technology and focusing on products over services. Through forgoing employees and explosive growth, solopreneurs gain freedom and control by owning 100% of a profitable company aligned with their values. For the right founder, solopreneurship can lead to financial success and a business carefully crafted around a lifestyle. Read the full email here.
* for me, this includes a life spent with my wife and daughter!
Find your niche: To build a successful business, start by identifying a niche you're passionate about serving. Then focus on building an audience within that niche through relevant content creation. Once you have an engaged audience that trusts you, create a product tailored to their needs. This audience-first approach of Niche ->Audience -> Content -> Product ensures your message resonates with your target customer base—rather than hoping your product happens to find an audience. By first deeply understanding your chosen niche, you can build an audience and business tailored to their needs. Read the full email here.
Do less better: The impulse is often to do more faster, but this can lead to busyness without purpose. A more effective mantra might be to do less better. Be selective and intentional about how you spend your limited time and attention. To focus on what's most important, schedule time for deep thinking and strategic planning, like a weekly hike to align on goals with your partner. Through calm deliberation, prioritize less and accomplish more. At week's end, celebrate checking off what truly matters, not rushing through an endless to-do list. By purposefully doing less better, you can have the satisfying feeling of completing your most vital work. Read the full email here.
Is the biz you run gonna be fun?: When starting a new business, begin with the end in mind. Envision the type of company you want to build beyond the initial idea. Consider your ideal lifestyle, leadership role, company size, funding needs, and willingness to sacrifice. You may want a small, flexible lifestyle business you're passionate about. Or a fully remote one-person company. Or a mid-sized firm with empowered teams. By designing the business you want, then aligning your idea and execution to match that vision, you're more likely to end up operating a company that fits your values. Read the full email here.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this series as much as I have in writing it. Next week, I will get a little woo-woo with you and write about the metaphysical beliefs I ascribe to when starting a business. Leaving it up to the spirit guides may be more powerful than any of the ideas above. ✨🪬🪷
- Chris